


Baby Doll

by Spiesbian



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Au where paul and bill meet after Bill's divorce, Fluff, M/M, Paul being an anxious disaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 11:30:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19004905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiesbian/pseuds/Spiesbian
Summary: “Oh, yea, totally.” Paul gave him a thumbs up and forced a grin. Judging by the man’s reaction, neither were very convincing. “Hey, um, what's your name?”“It's Bill.”“Bill.God, I am so sorry.”





	Baby Doll

Paul wound his tie around his wrist, undid it, then repeated the process. He was bored, and the ball of tension stuck between his shoulder from the long day. Well, long day was maybe an exaggeration. It was hardly halfway through. He probably shouldn’t have taken off his tie when the work day wasn’t even over.

“Hey, Paul?”

He scrambled to throw his tie back on, quickly realizing it was ridiculous to think that he could fix it in time. Paul settled for awkwardly leaning on his desk like he hadn’t just had a brief breakdown. “Uh, yea?”

The man from the desk next to his was leaning over. Paul felt a wave of guilt for not knowing his name when he clearly knew his. “I think I accidentally printed my copies to your printer, can you check?”

“Sure, sure, cool.” Jesus, Paul sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Today was not his day. He pulled out several copies from his printer, nearly scattering them on the floor when he handed them over. “Here you go.”

He looked at Paul suspiciously as he accepted the papers. “Are you doing okay?”

“Oh, yea, _totally.”_ Paul gave him a thumbs up and forced a grin. Judging by the man’s reaction, neither were very convincing. “Hey, um, what's your name?”

“It's Bill.”

“ _Bill._ God, I am so sorry.”

“It's fine, I only know your name because your notebook has your name on it.”

That would be embarrassing if Paul cared less about losing his notebook.

“Do you want to get some coffee?” Bill paused, amending his offer. “Maybe not coffee. You don't look like you could use the caffeine right now. Pastries? Water, maybe?”

“Oh, no, I don't want to bother you-”

“You're not.”

Paul almost started crying right there. “Water would be great, thanks.”

Bill nodded and got up from his desk, disappearing around the corner where water cooler was. Anxiety reared its head. Paul shouldn't be bothering him like this, they barely knew each other. He was halfway tempted to get up, walk out the office doors and keep going until he got home.

Too late. Bill returned with a little paper cup and set it down on the desk. Well, now that he’d gone through all of that it would be rude to just refuse something he asked for. Paul picked it back up, giving Bill a little nod before he drank. 

“What’s going on?” Bill asked. “I’ve never seen you so out of it.”

“I don’t know, I just woke up and everything felt wrong and now I’m here.”

“Alright, just take deep breaths.” Bill raised and lowered his hands in a “breathing” motion. “Everything is going to be fine.” 

After a bit more coaxing, Paul almost believed that for the rest of the day.

* * *

“Hey, Bill, I’m heading out for some coffee, what’s your favorite?”

“Thanks, but I don’t have any cash on me to pay you back right now-”

“Never said you were going to pay.”

“Oh. Caramel frappe, then.”

* * *

A little girl with long brown hair sets a heavy clay bowl onto his desk with enough force that Paul is almost surprised it didn’t break. He stares, trying to process what just happened.

“I made this for you,” she said.

“That’s… really nice.” He shifts in his chair. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Alice.”

Paul took a second to study the bowl. It’s almost a thing of Lovecraftian horror, covered in abstract pieces that don’t really come together to form any cohesive design and splattered with several bright colors. He should probably give this back to her, right?

“I wanted to thank you because you make my dad really happy. He talks about you a lot.”

Paul blinked. “Oh-”

“Alice!” Bill came running in, gasping for breath. “You can’t just run away up the stairs like that, I can’t keep up with you!”

“Sorry.” 

Bill looked in between Alice and Paul in his deer-in-headlights state. He tried his best to telepathically communicate his distress. It wasn’t that Paul didn’t like kids, he was just _terrified_ he was going to mess them up. Like, step on them by accident or something.

“Come here, sweetheart.” Bill held out a hand towards her. She accepted, still staring at Paul like a hawk. “I’m sorry, she’s just been very energetic lately. I brought her over for bring your kid to work day but I didn’t know that she would be this _rowdy._ ” He tugged Alice’s hand slightly, and she stuck her tongue out in response.

“I get it. I mean, not really, I don’t have kids and I’ve never really-” Paul sighed. “Y’know what? I’m gonna shut up now.”

Bill smiled at him like he hadn’t just made an idiot of himself. “I’ll be at my desk if you need me. And if you hear screaming, Alice has probably started a coup d’etat.”

When they left, Paul took a little bit of time to marvel at the bowl she’d given him. He really didn’t know what to make of it. Alice had an imagination, that was for sure. He turned back to his computer and got back to work on his reports.

* * *

“I’m about to head out for coffee again, wanna come?”

“Sorry, Paul, I gotta get this done.”

“I’ll still get you something, if you want.”

“Sure. Caramel frappe.”

“You always get that.”

“Well, there’s nothin’ better.”

* * *

“Paul, can you do me a really big favor?” Bill asked.

“Of course.” Paul slipped on his coat, fiddling around with the collar to fix it. The damn thing always managed to get messed up.

“I got trapped into… some legal thing tomorrow night, and the babysitter I got for Alice can’t stay the whole time.”

He chewed on his lip. “Uh, I’m not very good with kids. Are you sure you want me to do it?”

“I couldn’t think of anyone better if I tried.” Bill started buttoning up his jacket. “I can pay you for it.”

“I accept payment in free reign of your pantry the full time I’m there.”

Bill grinned. “Deal.”

Paul spent the next day and a half stressing over everything. He nearly dumped coffee all over poor Charlotte and tripped directly into Ted. Okay, that one he didn’t feel too bad about. Ted was an asshole. He should just back out, this was too much. This wasn’t just any kid either, this was Bill’s kid. If he fucked this up he’d never talk to Paul again, he’d never see that bright smile that always lit up the entire block again.

Hm. Maybe Paul had some other issues that he had to address.

Despite all of his constant indecisiveness, he knew he couldn’t really say no. Bill would probably hate him just as much if he did that. So he ended up riding in Bill’s car to his house, tie pulled off and twisted around his left arm. They’d already been sitting in silence for a good five minutes.

“Thank you again for doing this,” Bill said, wringing the wheel in his hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all good, buddy.” Paul tried to sound as stable as he could. If he kept looking the part, maybe he’d be it. 

“I’ll just drop you off out front and go, I’m already running late. Alice should be inside. Hopefully she hasn’t torn the house apart in the fifteen minutes she’s been alone.”

Ohhh, god. “Alrighty then.”

They finally pulled up to the curb. Paul opened the door and swung his legs out, psyching himself up for the trials ahead. Before he could fully get out of the car, Bill grabbed his wrist. A spark shot up Paul’s arm and down his spine.

“Thank you.”

He swallowed hard. “No problem.”

Paul lingered there for a couple seconds before he finally snapped out of it. He stalked away, willing his heart to slow down before he had a heart attack on Bill’s front lawn. 

He heard the car pull away as he knocked on the front door. A full thirty seconds passed before it swung open. Alice stood in the door, a holding a lollipop in one hand and a box of crayons tucked under her arm.

“Hey, Alice!” He tried to sound as cheerful as he could. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m okay.” She stuck the lollipop in her mouth. “Are you gonna come inside?”

“Yea, yea, of course.” Alice stepped aside to let Paul in. “Should you be having candy at this hour?”

“Dad isn’t home.”

“Y’know? Fair enough. No more though, okay?”

“Okay.”

He closed the door behind them, clearing his throat. “So, uh, what does your other babysitter normally do?”

“She sits on the couch and watches T.V. while I color.”

“Um. Is there anything _you_ want to do?”

Alice paused for a long while. “I want to play Candyland.”

“Thank god, I know the rules to that.”

After digging in the closet and blowing the dust off of a copy of Candyland that must have gone unused for at least a year, Alice and Paul sat across from each other on the floor.

“I'm gonna be red.” Alice picked up one of the plastic gingerbread men and set it on the starting space.

“Guess I'll be blue, then.” Paul drew a card from the deck and moved forward two purple spaces. Not bad for a first draw.

Alice drew her own card. “Is my Dad okay?”

“What?”

“He just seems sad a lot.” She slid her piece across the bridge. “He says he doesn't want to try and ‘replace’ Mom or whatever but sometimes I think he should.”

“That's rough.”

“He talks about you whenever we talk about our work days.”

Paul raised an eyebrow. “Our?”

“School is basically a job I don't get paid for,” Alice said sagely.

“Ahh, I see.” He pulled a blue card. “What does he say?”

“That you're really nice and always get him coffee.” She paused. “I've never had coffee before.”

“Skip it. It's addictive and makes my anxiety ten times worse but I've grown dependent.”

Alice nodded, drawing her next card. She held it up to Paul. “Lollipop Acres!”

“Aw, _what?_ How'd you get it so early?”

“The cards just like me.” She started moving her piece through the individual spaces, one at a time. Paul decided not to comment on that. “He also says he's worried about you sometimes.”

“W-Worried, why would he be worried?”

She waved her hand that wasn't moving the gingerbread man. “Something about you getting freaked out and distant and he doesn't know how to help.”

His heart skipped several beats. “You sure do have open communication with your father.”

“He said that that was really important for us. I don't know, I guess it's cool. He's nicer than Emily's dad.” She leaned closer to Paul. “He kind of scares me. He doesn't even _smile.”_

This was getting off track. “Let's focus back on Candyland.”

“Okay.”

When the night ended and Bill got back he started on his way home. Hatchetfield was a small enough town that it wasn't too bad. He might have asked Bill for a ride, but that would require leaving Alice alone again so he decided against it.

His house seemed just a little bit more empty than normal. Paul threw his coat to some random corner, started unbuttoning his shirt. More layers were discarded as he made his way to the bedroom.

He collapsed on top of the covers, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to his chest like some kind of fucking school girl. His mind was going a mile a minute now that he had the time to actually think about everything. _He worries about me, he thinks about me._

Jesus fucking Christ, Paul was in some kind of trouble.


End file.
